2013 Nuits St Georges Les Damodes

Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes was mightily impressive from barrel. That said, here it did not quite fire on all cylinders. It has a rather oaky bouquet at the moment, although underneath lies some attractive red berry fruit. It feels a little leathery. The palate is fleshy and soft, some dry wood tannin here that tends to dominate the finish and leave it feeling rather generic. I think it is just suffering a dumb phase and fluffed its lines under blind conditions. Tasted September 2016

Good medium red. Cool, medicinal black cherry, blueberry and violet on the nose. Concentrated, ripe and sappy, showing excellent texture and intense spice character for the vintage. Finishes juicy and long, with some very ripe chocolate tones and big, tactile tannins that avoid dryness. This will need patience.

(tasted from barrel; 70% vendange entier ; 40% new oak): Deep, bright red. Vibrant cherry and mocha aromas are lifted by a floral quality. Rich, sweet and deep, with strong dark fruit flavors framed by harmonious acidity and accented by a peppery quality. Broad yet weightless wine with strong underlying mineral character. Most of the pHs of these 2013s are in the range of 3.65 but this one is more like 3.5, according to Vincent. Finishes sappy and long, with terrific lift.